Priceline Hotel: 3* San Francisco (Airport SFO) Holiday Inn

[kayla]

We picked a bad weekend; Valentine & President holiday for a quick get away. I wish we did not book the airline tickets yet. Hotwire yields high price & doesn't seem to have any "suites" hotel which we are looking for. So now, we are planning to bid on Priceline for 2 1/2 * in SFO airport zone to possibly get hotel that has a desired amenities such as fridge & microwave. 2 1/2 star in other areas may not guarantee to have the amenities we need for the 2 young children.

On the hotel list it looks like Priceline may have: Best Western ($81), Hilton Garden Inn ($149), Staybridge ( $150) in SFO airport. What price should I start? I'm afraid to start too low then we may end up with Best Western. It would be so nice to win Staybridge but we would be happy to get just Hilton Garden Inn. :)

Worst come to worst we perhaps would book a 2BR suite at Staybridge. :)

Help!

TIA,

K.

[thereuare]

2 1/2 star in other areas may not guarantee to have the amenities we need for the 2 young children.

Assuming you're bidding for one room, could you handle receiving a room with only one bed for the four of you? Also, i don't a 2.5* in any zone can guarantee the amenities you're looking for, plus you always stand the possibility of being upgraded to a 3* (or higher) hotel. Are these risks you're willing to accept?

If you do end up booking direct, please use our Staybridge Suites link in our support page.

[kayla]

No, we are bidding for 2 rooms; grandparents are coming along. :)

Arrg... I forgot about the "upgrade". It is easier on Hotwire when they list the "suite" amenity. It is now more challenging to travel w/ 2 small children vs our BC ( Before Children) days.

Maybe we should try the 3* in SSF which conventional PL lists Radisson. However, beside the winning list in SSF (Radison & Embassy which are equipped w/ fridge + microwave), we never know some new 3 * could be given.

Another option is bidding for the 3* in the FW zone at high $70ish to get the Marriott w/ a frdige (recent winning posts), but then there is a high possibility that we could have won one of other 3* w/o desired amenities ( Hilton, Holiday Inn, Hyatt, Sheraton).

Normally most hotels charge ~$15/day for a mini fridge; some don't even have one.

Sigh...I'm thinking out loud. Pardon me.

[Colfax]

We picked a bad weekend; Valentine & President holiday for a quick get away. I wish we did not book the airline tickets yet. Hotwire yields high price & doesn't seem to have any "suites" hotel which we are looking for.

I just did a quick rate survey and prices don't look high for your dates, Downtown or at the Airport.

The Suite icon has pretty much disappeared from Hotwire, at least around SF. There are suite hotels available but most have quit displaying the suite icon because they don't want to be targeted by customers who might otherwise pay full price for the guarantee of a suite. For your dates Hotwire has 35 available hotels around SF and none shows a Suite icon.

You can take a chance bidding on Priceline/Hotwire or book a suite conventionally.

In SSF zone the Homewood Suites are a likely outcome on a 2.5* bid. But the Courtyard is possible or an upgrade to the 3* Radisson and neither has kitchens. You could try for just two nights and see what you get. If you get a hotel with kitchen then use Add a Night to try for the other two nights. (No guarantee that Add a Night will work.) If you try that I suggest trying for your Friday/Saturday nights first, as weekends can have lower Priceline rates than Weds/Thurs.

Are you familiar with the Opal Hotel in Priceline's Cathedral Hill zone? They have some very good rates this winter. The rooms don't have kitchens but there's free breakfast and a room with two queen beds is $78 for your dates. A one bed room is only $51, if that will work for the grandparents.

theopalsf.com

The Holiday Inn Express Fisherman's Wharf has kitchenettes and gets good reviews. Sometimes that hotel is available on HOTWIRE, but it doesn't appear available on Hotwire for your dates.

[kayla]

Thanks for an extensive reply. There is lots of guess work here when we play the bidding game.

I was so discouraged when Radisson in Brisbane (SSF) increased the price by 20% last week. Holiday Inn Golden Gate is >$200 for their black-out dates Feb13-17; otherwise, the discount rate is just $69 until Apr + $35 parking fee. Radisson has fridge+ microwave-- not sure for every room, though. I have to call possible hotel(s) prior bidding to verify the amenities.

Thanks for the suggestion on the Opal hotel. I check it again. I need to digest the info before taking the next step.

[kayla]

Hi,

One more question: What are the options when being upgraded? Just acceptance?

Thanks,

[562bulldog]

For what it's worth, we've stayed at the Hilton SF (via Priceline) many times with 2 young children and they've loved it ... we buy a big box of cereal to keep in the room and make a daily walk to go get milk, makes it part of the adventure, so unless the fridge and microwave are for medicines or something, i'm sure you can still cut dining costs without them (if it comes to that)

[thereuare]

What are the options when being upgraded? Just acceptance?

When bidding on priceline the star level you select is the minimum you are willing to accept... so even if you bid 2.5*, you could win a 3* or 4* hotel.

[kayla]

When bidding on priceline the star level you select is the minimum you are willing to accept... so even if you bid 2.5*, you could win a 3* or 4* hotel.

So no option to reject an upgrade? :)

[kayla]

Thanks for sharing your experience! If we end up getting a hotel w/o fridge, I was thinking the same thing : buying milk in small size twice daily. It's a bit inconvenient, especially if it rains. Our munchkins (3 yrs old & 16 mo) are finicky; have to have warm milk so we perhaps have to pack the milk warmer with. It takes longer to heat up but safer than the microwave. We don't need the whole kitchen-- no cooking when traveling. Are you kidding? :)

We are weighing all the options again-- location vs desired amenities.

[thereuare]

Using the coffee pot (usually in a room) can be used to get hot water to warm a milk bottle, or if the hotel received has a restaurant, they will usually accomodate you with some hot water as well. If you travel a lot, a small coffee maker (perculator style) can also fit easily in a bag and be used to get hot water whenever needed.

[kayla]

Thanks for all the helpful suggestion; we did try the coffee maker in the hotel room when we stayed at the Sheraton in Toronto years ago. It is normally smells coffee, though. :) Our bottle warmer is small but perhaps still is twice of the size of the coffee maker you recommended. Need to shop for that; it sounds handy for grandpa, too. It sound a good idea! When did we turn this post into travel w/ kids tip? :)

BTW, I'm surprise that PL didn't give us Best Western Grosvenor when I had the beginning bids $45, $47 2 1/2* in SFO airport zone couple weeks ago. Best Western's rack rate is $92 for our dates. The rack rate of most hotels in SF is 25%-40% higher compared w/ 2 weeks earlier dates. It makes me nervous after couple bids; haven't done this for so long. The last few years, we have either used rack rate or points or company paid, especially in Europe.

[Colfax]

Aside from the warm milk issue is the airport where you want to stay?

If yes South SF Radisson is on HOTWIRE for $89 now and rooms have microwave and fridge. It's the 3.5* with 6 icons including Laundry.

You can probably get that Radisson for less than $89 bidding 3* on Priceline. The Embassy Suites is the only other known 3* possibility. Either way a microwave.

Airport is remote if you're planning to spend most of your time Downtown though. You'll be able to get warm milk at any 2.5* or higher Downtown, whether you have microwave in room or not---if not from the hotel's restaurant than from a little market on the corner. There's one on practically every block Downtown.

[kayla]

Thank you all for the help! Husband was on business travel last week so we put off the trip planning/bidding until last night. Guess what? We got the unwanted upgrade to 3* Holiday Inn @ $57. :) I bid $55 yesterday unsuccessfully for 2 1/2 * in SFO airpot zone. I was thinking of bidding $65 but was afraid of getting an upgrade. Well, they did pump us up to a low-price 3* anyway @$57. Oh well, we tried.

I was prepared w/ this risk when we decided to trade off the 4* hotel w/ nice bed w/ the homey, desired amenities of a 2 1/2 * one; still I'm a little bump. Now I just have to reprogram myself a new expectation: no fridge, no microwave, no free breakfast. Hopefully, no mosquito squatting as some reviewers reported beside all the rants about the hotel. :)

Dear Admin,

Would you please edit the title to the winning report? Thanks! BTW, so sorry that I forgot to use the SavingBarn.com for the second bid. It was a little bit crazy here w/ grandma chasing the 2 munchkins around. I promise to use the link next time. This forum has been very helpful & supportive!

$57 Holiday Inn SFO Airport

02/13 -02/17/2008

[thereuare]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board.

We do have a Donation Link if you choose.

Enjoy your stay.

[kayla]

Thank you for sharing your results with the board.

We do have a Donation Link if you choose.

Enjoy your stay.

Concierge tip was made. Thanks.

[thereuare]

THANKS!! :)

I liked the metaphor... maybe we'll re-name that page/area of the board "Concierge" or something simlar. (just like our "Off Topic" area is named "Run of House" to keep with the hotel theme)

Thanks again... enjoy your stay.

[kayla]

$57 Holiday Inn SFO Airport

02/13 -02/17/2008

It was not a good bid result-- target & pricewise ($57 vs. $89, ~30-35% off fr. the entertainment discount rate) but our stay was not too bad as I feared. I was able to get 1 room w/ fridge & microwave. See more details in my hotel review.

[Colfax]

I wouldn't say $57 was a bad result, kayla. You were rejected at $55 and accepted at $57. You got the best possible deal available for your dates, unless the strike price was $56.

I understand why you might have preferred a 2.5* (free breakfast) over upgrade to 3* but at least you got upgraded to one of the 3*'s with free parking.

I stayed at that Holiday Inn one night last week too. I read your comments in the Hotel Review section and added a few of my own. Sounds like the HI basically worked out for you, although a place with free breakfast would have been better.

[thereuare]

I'll also add that when evaluating the 'deal', you should compare against rates available to the general public, not the Entertainment Book discount rate (nor AAA, AAPR, Government, etc rate)

[kayla]

Thanks for being so kind! Free breakfast or an indoor pool would mark up this HI hotel compatible w/ other 3 * in the area, IMHO. This HI got really bad reviews all over the WWW, though. It made me worried prior the trip. The fridge + microwave amenities made our stay convenient; it worked out for us.